The Rise of Hollystar
by Deltra 307
Summary: Lionblaze and Jayfeather remember that day as if it happened yesterday. The day Hollyleaf died. So... when the newest Thunderclan apprentice, Shadowpaw, brings a strange black she-cat into the clan, they can't help but wonder. Did Hollyleaf really die?
1. Prolouge

I have decided to finally do this story because I can. That is all.

I don't own warriors, because If I did, Hollyleaf would still be alive. Hollyleaf is one of my favorite characters.

Enjoy!

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Hollyleaf raced through the forest. If there was one way to get away from the wretched clans, it would have to be the tunnels that lay underground. The tunnels her traitor of a brother had used to meet with Heathertail.

Jayfeather's voice filled the air as he called over and over for her to return.

For an instant, she stopped. Maybe I can go back and all will be forgiven. She looked back towards the Thunderclan camp. And hedgehogs will fly when that happens. Everything's been ruined.

Picking up speed once again, the black she-cat made her way through the trees. A mass of bushes blocked her path. She pushed them aside to reveal a tunnel.

"Hollyleaf!" she head her brothers pant. She flung her head around.

"Don't do it," Lionblaze said, drawing closer to his sister.

"I can and I will!"

"Just come back to the camp. There's no need for this." The toms words were nerely drowned out by the sound of rain hitting hard against the ground.

"There's plenty of need for this! I'm not going back there and that's final!"

"Why are you doing this?" Jayfeather asked.

"Because this is what I have to do! The clans are ruined and I can never go back!"

"Of course you can!" Jayfeather spat. "You know Thunderclan will forgive you for killing Ashfur!"

"Did they forgive Leafpool and Squirrelflight when they found out they lied to everyone? No! They'll never forgive me either!"

"But we will!" Lionblaze held his tail over Jayfeather's mouth.

"You're not helping the situation!"

"But if Hollyleaf goes-"

"I know! Are you sure this is what you want?" he asked, turning his attention to Hollyleaf once more.

She growled, "Of course I'm sure! If I wasn't, I would have never left in the first place!" Lion blaze dipped his head and took a step back.

"You're not going to try to stop her?" Jayfeather asked in horror.

"There's no point. Once she's made up her mind, there's no changing it."

She spun around and raced into the tunnels. As she ran, to her suprise, there was silence from the two toms. Then, she heard Jayfeather cry out, "Hollyleaf, come back!" Ignoring his plea, she continued on.

"Hollyleaf!" came the terrified meow. A rumble shook the whole tunnel. She looked up at the ceiling to have small rocks fall onto her face. Then, larger rocks fell. She knew what this meant.

Running for dear life, she half ran, half slid down the wet floors. Please let me live, please let me live! she thought desperately over and over. Huge stones fell to the floor tail lengths away. She turned her head while still running.

A wall of huge boulders blocked her from turning around. A huge crack made her leap back. She faced forward to see rocks and dirt blocking her from going forward.

She was trapped.

She dug at the wall of dirt terrified. I don't want to die! Suddenly, the floors began to shake. Looking up, she saw a gigantic boulder falling down.

Towards her.

She dug even faster. The entire lake seemed to shake as the rock fell to the ground.

Silence. Nothing moved.

For what seemed like moons, the tunnels were quiet. Then, the wall collapsed and Hollyleaf, hurt and bloody scrambled out. But the danger wasn't over yet.

Summoning all her strength, the black cat sped down the hall.

The underground river came into sight and she sighed in relief.

And then immense pain struck her head, and everything turned black.

Lionblaze shot up in his bed, gasping. Sweat trickled down the fur on his face.

"It was only a dream," he whispered, relieved.

Mousewhisker looked up and growled. "And your little dream kept us up all night!" The gray and white tom curled up, attempting to go back to sleep.

Lionblaze stretched and padded out of the warriors den. The moon shown high in the sky. Jayfeather sat in the middle of the clearing, his sightless eyes staring blankly at the stars.

"Troubled?" he asked as Lionblaze sat down next to him.

"How did you-"

"I'm your brother. I can just tell. Is it that dream again?"

"Yep. I just can't get that day out of my mind. Maybe if I'd tried harder to stop her, she might not have..."

"You're being to hard on yourself. I bet even if you had tried harder, her fate would still be the same."

"How do you know?"

"Because, knowing Hollyleaf, nothing would have changed her mind."

"You sure know a lot for someone who's blind."

"I'll take that as a compliment. But, overall, I think that things are better than they would be if Hollyleaf were still alive."

"Why do you say that?"

"I have my reasons, and I don't have to share them."

"The moon sure is pretty tonight."

"I suppose it is."

An uneasy felling crept up Lionblazes spine as he turned towards the entrance to the camp. A pair of yellow eyes stared at him from the darkness. The black apprentice, Shadowpaw, bounded forward, Cinderheart and Sorreltail behind him.

"Lionblaze! Look what I caught!" he meowed setting his prey on the ground. It was a huge pidgeon nearly twice his size.

"Well caught, and on your first hunt, too!"

"Do you want it? I caught it especially for you!"

"Um, well I'm not very-"

"Sure, he'll have it," butted in Jayfeather.

The apprentice pushed it towards the two and scampered off towards the apprentices den.

"I think training him is going to be harder that training Dovewing."

"He is only four moons old."

"What? No one told me that! Does Firestar know?"

"Of course he does. But the kit's a genius. Remember two moons ago when he managed to beat Brambleclaw when they were fighting."

"They were just play fighting. He just went easy on him."

"That's not what Brambleclaw said. Hey, aren't you on the dawn patrol? Don't you think you should be resting?"

"That's right! Good night, Jayfeather!" And with that, the tabby padded towards the warriors den, only to have his dreams be filled with the horrible memory once again.

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Shadowpaw is an OC I made while attempting to write a fanfiction with my friend and my x-friend. But I'm the one who made him up, so I took him and placed him in this story.

This takes place after Omen of the Stars since, as you can tell, Dovepaw is Dovewing. Though I don't know what Ivypaws warrior name is, and I just figured Dovepaw's would be Dovewing, so that explains that. Please Review! I get all happy when I get reviews!


	2. Chapter 1: The First Encounter

Hey, guys! This will probably be the last update for a while, well besides the create a cat thingy. Anyways, this chapter, sad to say, is going to be a little short. But... I don't own Warriors, like I've said a ton. Enjoy!

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Waves gentally lapped at Holly's paws. Sunlight, somewhat blocked by trees, fell to the ground. The black she-cat slowly got up and yawned. Blinking away sleep, she stared up through the huge crack in the roof of the cave. _Her_ cave.

She'd been confined to this empty place for as long as she could remember. A river split the cave in two. Tunnels blocked by rocks and mud filled the walls. She'd always wondered where they led, but had never been able to find out. Large dents were present in the dirt walls. She'd been trying to dig her way out for moons with no luck whatsoever. She'd be trapped here forever.

Voices had called to each other from above her home for the longest time. She'd seen cats leap over the gap without even knowing it was there. Not knowing _she_ was there.

"I wonder if my family misses me," she'd said to herself countless times over. "I wonder if anyone misses me," she'd add sadly.

Of course, being alone wasn't all bad. It had advantaged. No could tell her what to do or not to do.

Sometimes small animals would fall through the roof. They were what she'd eat every other day. Even though it would only happen sometimes, that's how she'd stayed alive all this time.

Holly. The name she'd given herself when she'd first woken up here. She didn't know why she'd named herself that. The name had just come to her, and she'd kept it ever since.

Holly, after getting a drink from the river, padded over to a dent in one of the tunnels. She began digging vigorously. "If anyone out there knows me, I have to find them, and you're the only thing in my way."

After countles hours of digging, she'd made a long tunnel that dodged around huge boulders. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough.

"I'll never get out of here!" she screamed, her cry echoing off the rock walls. "If somebody's there, anyone will do, just please help me! I can't go on like this!"

"Did you hear something?" came the voice of another cat. Holly shot upstraight.

"Yes! I'm trapped! Help me!"

There was silence for a while. "Must have been my imagination," the cat decided, leaping over the gap.

"No! Please come back! I'm here! I'm trapped..." No one answered but her voice that bounced off the walls of the cave.

She slumped down next to the river, all of the hope drained out of her.

"Why am I here? Out of anyone in the world, why did it have to be me? I don't even know my own name, for Pete's sake!"

After that, she drifted off to sleep, nothing left to do.

* * *

Shadowpaw excitedly followed behind his mentor. The big golden tabby hadn't said a word since they'd left on their hunting patrol.

"Where are we going?" the black apprentice asked, practically skipping beside Lionblaze.

"I was thinking near the Windclan border."

"Why the Windclan border?"

"Because I said so. And will you stop doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"That jumping around! Every piece of prey from here to the forest will be scarred away with you stomping like that all day long!"

"Sorry..." Shadowpaw muttered, slowing his pace.

Suddenly, Sorreltail came running towards them. "Lionblaze!" she panted. "Shadowclan have crossed the border! Go help them while I get more help!"

"Stay here," he meowed to Shadowpaw. "Do some exploring, or something, just don't get into any trouble. I'm on my way!" And the tom dashed off towards the opposite end of the territory.

Shadowpaw looked around. _What's there to explore?_ he thought. "What's that?" A mousetail stuck out of the bushes. "Prey!" Remembering what Lionblaze had taught him, he crept slowly across the forest floor, the mouse before him unaware of his presence. He lept into the air, landing perfectly on the peice of prey.

He buried it swiftly, since not long after he'd caught the mouse, the scent of rabbit hit his nose. He crawled through the bushes when he spotted it. Again, he crept up to it, but at the last moment, it noticed him and dashed away.

Thinking his mentor would be angry with him if he didn't catch it, he chased it through the forest. Just as he was about to stretch out and grab it, he tripped on a rock and went tumbling down a hill.

"Ow," he moaned, getting to his paws. Turning around, he saw it. A huge cave, it's roof caved in. "Wow..."

The sound of scraping came from the other side. "Someone must be trying to dig through! I can help!" He dug with all his might, the dirt falling away in heaps. The sound stopped on the other side. They must have given up, he thought, continuing to dig.

Then he heard it.

"Help... me..."

The cry was weak, and it wasn't very loud, but Shadowpaw's hearing had never failed him yet.

"I'm helping! I'll get you out of there!"

"Someone's...Someone's really here? Oh, thank you, thank you!"

Finally, the last of the rumble fell to the ground. He heard a huge breathe from the other side.

Green eyes met green as he saw the black she-cat.

"H-hello," Holly mewed quietly.

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And Shadowpaw meets Holly! I bet you can tell who she is, so...

Review, please! I get all happy when I get reviews!


	3. Chapter 2: A Cat Named Holly

This chapter is really short because I was running out of ideas to put in the chapter. There's just a ton of dialouge. I don't own warriors. R&R and enjoy! And, obviously, I can't spell anything right now!

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Shadowpaw blinked. The she-cat was an almost exact replica of himself. The only difference was her hight and gender. He smelled the air. This cat definatly wasn't from Thunderclan. Then were was she from?

"Who are you?" he growled.

"My name's Holly. And your's?"

"Are you from Windclan?"

"Windclan?"

"Yeah, Windclan! Well? Are you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You mean...you haven't heard of Windclan?" She shook her head. "Shadowclan? Riverclan? Thunderclan?"

"No, no, and no. What are they?"

The black apprentice was about to fall over. Didn't everyone know about the clans? If that were so, then why didn't she? More importantly, how was he going to explain what a clan was when she'd never heard of one.

"Well, they're, um... I've gotta go! My mentor's calling me! Bye!" He began to run towards camp when Holly stretched out and grabbed his back leg.

"You're not leaving yet."

"Help! Help! Somebody! A monster's got me, a monster's got!" he cried and fell over. "Don't take me to your evil liar, please! I'm to young to be disected!"

She pulled him closer until they were face to face. "Relax, kid. I'm not going to hurt you."

"That's what you want me to think!"

"Do I look evil to you?"

"Um... No..." he mumbled, embarressed. "I'm not a kit, I don't need to be dragged." He wiggled his leg out of her grasp and sprang to his paws. "So, were are you going?"

"Home."

"Where's your home?"

"Here."

"In the collapesed tunnel?"

"Yep."

"Are you going to keep on using one word answers everytime I ask a question?"

"Yep."

"You're boring."

"Deal with it."

"Want to fight?"

She turned around to look at him. "Do I look prepeared to fight?" Her fur looked as though it hadn't been cleaned for moons. Her bones looked like they were about to burst out of her pelt any moment, and there was a dull look in her eye.

"No... But that doesn't mean you don't want to!" he meowed hopefully.

"No."

"But-"

"No! I need to get my stuff out of here so I can got out of this dump."

"Thunderclan territory isn't a dump!"

"This is Thunderclan land?" the black cat asked, uninterested.

"Yeah! Over there is Windclan territory. Waaaaay over there is Shadowclan territory, and all the way across the lake is Riverclan territory."

"There's a lake?"

"How can you live around here and not know about the clans or the lake?"

"I've been trapped down here all my life! How would I know about anything that goes on out here?"

He sighed. "I suppose. Want to see Thunderclan territory?"

"No! I don't want to do anything right now except for get my stuff and leave! I thought meeting another cat for the first time would be exciting, but you? You're just an annoying chatterbox!"

"You...You really think I'm annoying?" Shadowpaw asked, a hurt look on his face.

"Will you leave me alone if I say no?" He shrugged. "Then no, you're not."

"Yay!"

"Now go away."

"Aw, but I like you! Be my mentor! Please?"

"What?"

"My mentor! You're so much more awesome then bossypaws Lionblaze!"

"I'm some random stranger you found in an odd cave who doesn't know what a, what did you call it, clan? Who doesn't even know what a clan is, and you want me to be your mentor?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"You _are_ annoying."

"Please? Pretty please? I'll come at you with my best shots if you say no!"

"No." The small apprentice bunched up his muscles like he was going to leap.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," he growled, leaping at her, claws ensheathed.

"Please," she moaned, knocking him away and pinning him to the ground. "That was easy."

"I'm an elite fighter! You only got a lucky shot."

"Oh really?"

"Let me go and I'll show you." She released the black apprentice and again, he lunged at her, this time aiming for her legs. Holly leapt to the side, easily dodging his attack.

"If your an elite fighter, I think your 'clans' are a bunch of pushovers."

"See? This is why I wanted you to be my mentor! Lionblaze never teaches me anything. How are you such a good fighter, anyways?"

"I have my ways. A mentor, huh? So I just have to teach you fighting moves? You realize there'll be a cost."

"Anything, I don't care! Jsut as long as it doesn't involve injury or death!"

"Take me to see thins Thunderclan place of yours and we've got a deal."

"Okay, I'll take you-" Shadowpaw was inturrupted by the soind of someone calling out his name.

"Shadowpaw! Get your prey! We're heading back to camp!"

"Sorry, Holly, gotta go! See ya later!" And he bounded off towards the Thunderclan camp.

Holly watched the small tom leave. _Thunderclan,_ she thought. _Why does that name sound familiar...?_

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Yeah, not exactly my best work. I read over it in about 2 minutes, so...


	4. Chapter 3: Fighting

Hi guys. I don't really know what to say here, except, yay! Chapter 3! I don't own Warriors. Erin Hunter does. R&R and enjoy!

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Shadowpaw's tail twitched impatiently. He'd told his mentor that he wanted to go hunting alone again,-he'd been doing so for about a moon now-but Lionblaze had told him to wait while he went to go speak with Firestar.

He was a bit over five moons old now, and Lionblaze, after finding out how young he was, refused to teach him anyfighting move. Sure he was young, and a little small for even his age, but that didn't mean he couldn't fight...right?

When Lionblaze came out of Firestar's Den, the apprentice was surprised to see the leader himself right behind the golden warrior.

Firestar had a long grin that spread across his face. Why would he be so happy? Had Lionblaze told him about how he'd been using the moves the Holly had taught him?

"Firestar wants to talk with you," Lionblaze said quickly before padding towards the Medicine Cats den. _He probably wants to check up on Jayfeather._

"Lionblaze told me about your progress."

"Did he? What did he say?"

"He said he was surprised to see how well you've progressed." Then, the leaders smile turned into a frown. "But then he said he'd seen you using techniques he's never shown you. Is that right?"

Shadowpaw gulped. Hesitantly, he nodded. "Then were did you learn them?" There was an odd look in his eyes. Was he...suspicious of him? He was only an apprentice, so why would the ginger tom be suspicious of him? He shoved the thought aside.

"I made 'em up!" he lied.

"Really...?"

"Yep!"

"They don't look like something a five moon old cat would come up with."

"Are you trying to say you don't believe in me?"

The large tom wrapped his tail around Shadowpaw. "Shadowpaw, I'm your father. You can tell me things and if you tell me something you don't want shared with anyone and, unless its something important that the clan needs to know, I promise I won't tell anyone."

"Really?"

"Really."

"If you promise you won't tell a single soul..."

"Not one."

He hesitated before whispering, "A she-cat's teaching me."

"A ... she-cat? What kind of she-cat?"

"Oh, Firestar, she's wonderful! She's funny and smart, and she looks just like me!"

"What's her name?" The suspicious look entered his eyes once more.

"She said she named herself."

"Then what did she name herself?"

The apprentice looked from side to side before dropping the volume of his voice back down to a whisper. "Holly."

"And where does this 'Holly' person live?"

"Why do you need to know?"

"No reason. I just want to know."

He gasped before continuing. "Your going to go drive Holly away, aren't you?"

"We can't have rogues and loners on our territory! Especially ones that teach our apprentices dangerous battle moves! At first I was proud to know my son was doing well, but now..."

"I'll never tell you where Holly lives!"

"Tell me where she is!"

"But she's hurt and weak! She can barely go about ten fox lengths without collapsing!"

"Shadowpaw, you will do what your leader says!"

"Then your not my leader anymore! I hate you! I'm going to go find Holly!"

The small tom raced out of the Thunderclan camp. One of the warriors was about to give chase when Firestar held up his tail to block them from going any further.

"Let him run. We'll follow his scent and get him later." Sandstorm ran out of the warriors den. "What happened? I heard you and Shadowpaw yelling and..."

"He ran away."

"Aren't you going to look for him?" Firestar shook his head. "But Firestar, he's our kit! Don't you care?" The leader said nothing as he returned to his den. "If your not going to look for him, I will!" she decided, following his scent into the forest.

* * *

Holly looked up to the cloudy sky. "It's going to rain soon..." she realized. A flash of black fur caught her eye as Shadowpaw ran up to her, panting.

"I hate Thunderclan!" he spat as he ran up beside her.

"You're late," she pointed out.

"Well, the good news is that I won't be late anymore. I'm never going back to that stupid place!"

"What happened?"

"Stupid Firestar wanted to know why I knew all the things you taught me, so I told him you taught me them and then he decided he was going to drive you off Thunderclan land!"

"Isn't Firestar your father?"

"Not anymore. From now on, I have no parents." A large drop of rain splattered on the apprentices nose. Holly laughed.

"Come on, lets go into my den where we won't get soaked." Shadowpaw followed her as she lead him towards cover. "Where will you stay if you're not going to live with Thunderclan?"

The black cat's answer was a huge yawn as he curled up next to the loner. She wrapped her tail around him and watched as He fell asleep beside her.

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Well, that's all. A little short, but all my work is that way. Kinda. Hope you enjoyed!


	5. Chapter 4: The Story

Urg! These chapters are so short! Well, at least they aren't only two paragraphs long... I don't own Warriors. R&R and enjoy!

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As the black apprentice woke up, Shadowpaw panicked, realizing that the other apprentices, Cherrypaw and Molepaw, weren't there. Then he remembered what happened the day before and relaxed.

Underneath him was moss, yet it was the only bedding in the den. And he was the only person in the den. Where was Holly? Probably hunting, he decided.

Streching, he padded towards the entrance. It was downpouring. Not the best weather for hunting in. He smelled the air. Holly's scent was stale. She must have left early in the morning. If that was so, where was she? Had she possibly gotten lost? The scents of the path home would be washed away.

Relief flooded over him as he saw the she-cat coming down a hill, prey in her mouth. She flopped a scrawny mouse in front of him.

"That's all?" the apprentice asked.

"I guess I'm still a little rusty on the matter, saying as you were the one who caught prey for me." she shook herself, trying to get dry. "The weather's horrible out there."

"I suppose it is."

"Well? are you going to sit there looking at that mouse all day? Eat it!"

"What will you eat?"

"You can catch me something later. I'm not hungry right now." A growl that came from her stomach told him she'd lied.

"Take it," he meowed, pushing the prey towards her. "I can wait 'til later to eat."

She was hesitant, looking down at the mouse while pondering what to do. She shrugged, hunger talking over, and said, "Suit yourself," before devouring it.

Shadowpaw stayed at the entrance. "I wonder if Thunderclan misses me."

"I'm sure they do. But I thought you didn't like them anymore, so why would it matter to you?"

"I don't know."

"Having second thoughts?"

"Of course not! I'm staying here, with you!"

"Thunderlcan... Are you still going to take me there?"

"Of course not! If Firestar sees you, he'll drive you away! Then I'd never be able to see you again..."

"But we made a deal. You can't back out now."

"I guess. But if Firestar tries to-"

"I know, I know, run as fast as I can! I'm a grown cat, I don't need a kit telling me what I can and can't do."

"I'm an apprentice!"

"To me, your just a kit. Well, now that I've eaten, want to hear a story?"

"A story? What kind?"

"A story that I dreamt up." He gave her an unsure look. "Just listen. Long ago, the leader of Thunderclan-"

"What's his name?"

"I don't know! Now shut-up and listen to the story!"

Shadowpaw shrank down. "Okay."

"The leader of Thunderclan found a loner stretched out on a Thunderpath. She was badly wounded and needed help right away, so he took her to his camp where the medicine took care of her. Once she was fully heal, she decided to stay with the clan that had shown her such kindness.

"Not long after she joined the clan, she meet a black kit named-"

"Shadowkit," he said, smiling at her. Holly was hesitant. She stared at him with a worried look before slowly nodding.

"Yes, Shadowkit. She and Shadowkit became good friends and as the two grew older, Shadowkit- Shadowheart, now- began to fall in love with her. Everything was peaceful...until the day the she-cat disappeared. Two of the Thunderclan warriors had killed her.

"Shadowheart was filled with so much greif that his very life seemed to drain out of him. Then, he realised something. The Thunderclan leader had been acting happier ever since the she-cat's death. It was then that he came up with the theory that it was the Thunderclan leader who had ordered the two to kill her.

"He was enraged. He formed a plan to take the life of the leader. A life for a life, an even trade. But his plan failed and he was banished from the clans. That's when he snapped. The once so wise and calm cat was replaced by a crazy killer out for revenge."

Shadowpaw's eyes widened in horror. "It was then that the she-cat returned to Thunderclan," she continued, ignoring the apprentice's shocked look. "When she heard of Shadowheart's banishment, the first thing she did was race out into the forest.

"It was said that Shadowheart- now called Shatteredheart- was living at Sunningrocks-"

"What's Sunningrocks?"

"I don't know. Remember, this was just a dream. So that's where she headed. He was there, but he wasn't the cat he use to be. Now he was insane, constantly laughing his horrid laugh, his face twisted into a horrible sneer, and his claws stained red from the blood of all of his victims.

"The she-cat, loyal to her clan, saw him as a threat and attacked him without hesitation. Though he was called the best fighter in the forest, she managed to beat him and drive him out of the place the four clans called home.

"Apparently, Shadowhe- ur, Shatteredheart still roams the forest, waiting for his next victim..."

Shadowpaw shivered. "Uh... Nice story!"

"You don't have to lie to me. You can tell me if it was bad."

"No, not bad, just... scary..."

"Well, I've been up all morning, so I'm gonna take a nap. If you need anything, just wake me up." And with that, she drifted into deep slumber.

Shadowpaw looked back out into the forest. An eerie feeling hung in the air. Was this a sign? He and the character did share the same name. No, he thought. It was just her dream. But even as he padded into the forest to catch some prey, he could fell Holly's worried gaze burn into his fur as if she thought he would turn out the same as the character in the story...

* * *

A bit of foreshadowing, maybe? Or maybe just some random story I put in because I was running out of ideas? You can decide. But... Hope you enjoyed!

I know this is kind of random, but I was watching Pokemon The Johto Journeys (Which I do not own, either), and for the 'Whose that Pokemon' thingy-which was Cubone, by the by-, the hint was 'This Pokemon wears the skull of it's dead mother!'. But, what if it's mom's not dead? Then what? Or does the mother die when it gives birth? Does anyone who knows mind explaining that to me? Please?

And again, R&R! Reviews make my day!


	6. Chapter 5: Raid

Hya! After over two months of not posting a chapter on this story, I'VE MADE CHAPTER 6! I'm hyper, by the by. Anyways, Enjoy!

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A violent wind swept over the Thunderclan camp. Dovewing sat in the warriors den with the other cats. It was hard to find a spot to sit when the whole clan was crowded around you. The gray she-cat pushed the vole she was eating away from her. She wasn't all that hungry. It was hard to eat when your one litter mate is glaring daggers at you a few feet away.

She looked away. She couldn't bare seeing Ivypool like this. They were sisters, supposed to be the closest cats in the clan, and yet she hated Dovewing.

_Stupid prophecy!_ She thought, tail lashing. _If I wasn't part of the three, maybe Ivypool would be so jealous!_

"Would you stop?" Toadstep said irritably. "How am I supposed to get any sleep with you hitting me with your tail every second?"

"Sorry. I didn't mean to."

He replied with a snort. "Make sure not to do it again."

The den was silent. The only sound was the rain lightly hitting the roofs of the dens outside, the wind howling, and the shallow breathe of cats all around her. It was... peaceful. For moons, border cworals, major injuries, and the other clans stealing had been going on. The clan was exhausted. But now, they had time to sit back and watch the day go by without anything going wrong.

Or not.

The camp exploded with excitement as the border patrol, consisting of Thornclaw, Birchfall, and Bumblestripe, bursted into camp, each of them gasping for air.

"Firestar!" Thornclaw yowled. "Shadowclan are invading Thunderclan territory!"

"What?" The Thunderclan leader raced out of his den. About a heartbeat later, Cinderheart, Foxleap, and their apprentices, Cherrypaw and Molepaw, rushed through the thorn tunnel as well.

"Firestar! Windclan's on out land! They're coming towards camp right now!" Cherrypaw screeched before either warrior could say a thing.

"Maybe they just want to speack with me," Firestar said calmly.

Cinderheart was the one who spoke. "If they just wanted to talk, I doubt they would've attacked us."

Dovewing took a closer look. What the older warrior said was true. The hunting patrol was covered in blood and scratches.

"Then we'll fight! Dustpelt, Sorreltail, Rosepetal, Cloudtail, and Spiderleg, go with Cinderheart, Foxleap, Cherrypaw, and Molepaw. I'll trust you to deal with the Windclan cats. Berrynose, Lionblaze, and Dovewing, you go with the border patrol."

The gray furred cat stared out deep into the forest. A group of about seven Windclan cats was coming through the undergrowth, tripping every which way. She held back a laugh. They looked so mouse-brained! She sent her gaze towards the Shadowclan border. There was nothing there. She looked closer towards the camp. There! Only a few fox lengths away from the entrance.

"I smell Shadowclan," she lied. It was a popular excuse for her, since she could never reveal that she had a power even more powerful then her very own warrior ancestors. "I think they're getting close."

"So do I." Lionblaze gave her a quick smile.

"Quick, then!" Firestar ordered.

The group of cats raced out through the forest, Dovewing in the lead. In only a few heartbeats, the groups of cats ran face to face.

Instantly, the Shadowclan cats' claws unsheathed. "What are you doing here?" a mottled brown she-cat, Applefur, growled. Behind her were Ratscar, Olivenose, Owlclaw, and Tigerheart.

"This is our territory. The real question is what are you doing here?" Thornclaw growled.

"Taking this territory! You soft-hearted wimps don't deserve this land!" Owlclaw spat.

Berrynose bunched his muscles, ready to leap out at the light brown tom. "You take that back!"

"Make us," said Ratscar, a grin creeping across his face. Almost instantly, he was on top of the Thunderclan warrior. With a yelp of surprise, Berrynose toppled over.

In a heartbeat, the clan cats were upon each other, hissing and clawing at their opponents.

Dovewing and Tigerheart stared at each other. She didn't want to fight him. She couldn't fight him. It looked like Tigerheart felt the same way. Before either of the two could do anything, Bumblestripe barreled into the tabby's side, knocking him into a tree.

"Stay off our territory, filth!" he screeched before preparing to launch another attack.

Olivenose was pinning Birchfall down not to far away from her, while Ratscar tore viciously at his back. Dovewing raced over to help her hurt clan mate. Gripping the brown toms neck fur in her mouth, she dragged him off Birchfall. She began ripping out tuffs of fur when Applefur called, "Retreat, Shadowclan!"

The group of cats raced off through the undergrowth like newborns trying out their paws for the first time.

"That'll teach them to invade our territory again," Lionblaze said, coming over to sit by Dovewing.

She looked through the forest and saw that the other patrol had had the same luck and where returning to camp.

Thornclaw lead the way to the thorn tunnel, but as the other cats disappeared into a mass of leaves, Dovewing and Lionblaze stayed behind.

"Come on, let's head back," he said, getting up.

"Wait." She sniffed the air. After a bit, she mewed, "That's definatly his scent."

"Who's? What are you talking about?"

"Near the Windclan border... and over on at the Shadowclan border. It's faint, but that's defiantly it. His scent's all over our territory."

"Who's scent is it?" Lionblaze demanded.

"It's Shadowpaw's..."

* * *

Shadowpaw took a large bite out of his thrush. He'd caught enough prey to fill a whole clan on the Shadowclan and Windclan territory. Before, they would've claed his ears off, but he wasn't part of Thunderclan anymore. There was nothing for him to worry about.

Holly's black fur stood out like a fox in a group of rabbits as she curled up in the corner. She'd gone to sleep not to long ago. The apprentice had nothing left to do but stare out at the beautiful forest he called home.

The wind had died down that afternoon, and the clouds had parted, leaving the suns rays beating down on the trees. It almost looked like they were glowing in the sunlight.

It was after he pushed the thrush away that he scented something. He raised his nose into the air. Thunderclan! And by the scent, he guessed there were a lot of them. _What are _they_ doing here?_ he thought grimly. _This is their territory, I guess._

"Holly," she said quietly, shaking the older cat awake. "Holly, I think we might have some company."

"...Huh...?" she replied, half asleep.

"Shadowpaw!" came an excited mew from not to far away. A fluffy gray she-cat bursted from a patch of bushes and ran over to touch noses with him. "It is you! You're mother's going to be so happy!"

"Dovewing?" he said, confused. He took another sniff. "And... Lionblaze?"

"That's me." The golden tabby stepped out from where Dovewing was only a few moments before. "Dovewing thought you'd be here."

"How'd you know?"

Ignoring his coment, Dovewing went on. "Wait 'til we bring you back to Thunderclan! Everyone'll be so happy!"

"Wait, what do you mean 'bring me back'?"

"Well, we've found you, so now all we've got to do is bring you home."

"Your talking about taking be back to Thunderclan? You obviously don't understand. Thunderclan isn't my home anymore. My home's with Holly." Lionblaze's eyes grew large in surprise. They showed some emotion, but Shadowpaw couldn't think of what it was. Dovewing, on the other hand, looked more confused then surprised.

"Holly? Is that the rouge?"

"Loner," he corrected.

"She's here, right?"

"Right inside that den." She looked at Lionblaze. The tom nodded to her, the shocked expression gone. In a heartbeat, she was on top of the small black tom. "What are you doing?" he yowled.

"Taking you back home." Another black figure walked out of the den.

"What's all this commotion about...?" Then, Holly saw Shadowpaw. "Shadowpaw! Get off!" She launched herself at Dovewing, knocking her off Shadowpaw.

Dazed, the gray cat got back up. When Shadowpaw tried a run, she planted a paw on his tail. "Oh, no you don't!"

Before Holly could do anything to stop the Thunderclan cat, Lionblaze leaped onto her back and began slashing furiously. Managing to wiggle out of his grasp, she raced out of the clearing, the golden tom on her tail.

Shadowpaw saw her give him a sad glance over her shoulder. "It's okay! Just run! We'll see each other soon!" She didn't look convinced, but disappeared into the undergrowth anyway.

"I'm not trying to be mean, Shadowpaw," Dovewing was explaining. "It's just that Thunderclan needs you. Please believe me!" It didn't matter if he believed her or not, there was still no chance of escape now that she had him pinned down. She realesed her grip on him, but grabbed onto his scruff before he could get away. "Thunderclan camp we go," she said, her voice muffled with fur.

* * *

Lionblaze raced through the forest after the mysterious black she-cat. _Shadowpaw said her name was Holly, right? That's odd..._

She was fast, he had to admit, but he was faster. He raced by her before whipping around. "There's nowhere to go now. You can run, but know that I will catch you."

For the first time, he saw her face. He stared into her brilliant green eyes.

He gasped, "Hollyleaf?"

* * *

Dun, Dun...DUUUUUUUN! What's Holly gonna do now? Thanks for reading and don't forget to review! Come on, you know you want to! Don't make that poor little review button lonely!


	7. Chapter 6: Return to Thunderclan

Deltra 307: Wow. Compared to the HUGE gape between chapters 4 and 5, it only seemed like yesterday when I last posted a chapter on this story. But I have some important announcements to make, well, ones not as important as the other, but... Okay, first off, yesterday, I put up a new story called Without a Doubt. Yeah, bad name, I know. Laugh at it all you want, it's not like I'm gonna hear you anyways. I'm guessing because of the lame name (I couldn't come up with anything else!) and the _really_ bad summery, people decided that it was probably dumb and not worth reading. So I'm begging you, please read it! And _**please**_review! Please? Okay, now for the important announcement. I've decided to do a competition. Or something like that. It is-

Shadowpaw: I wanna read it!

Deltra: *sighs* Okay, how can I resist a cute face like that? *hands over sheet of paper*

Holly: Oh sure, give the kit the paper!

Deltra: Oh shut up Holly.

Shadowpaw: The paper says: I've decided to do something nice for all my reviewers. I know there are probably some people who review my stuff who have stories with about 70 to 100 reviews, but to me, 30 is enough to make me bounce around in joy. To thank anyone who reviewed, I decided to have a competition thingy. The fiftieth reviewer gets to give me a theme, and some OCs if you really want, and I will right it.

Deltra: Yep! That's right! If you see that your the fiftyith reviewer, please PM me telling me that you are exactly the fifieth reveiwer, give me a theme for a one-shot, and I'll write it, dedicated to you! This is no joke! So don't just wait! Review! Jeez, Shadowpaw, I didn't know you could read so well...

Shadowpaw: Well when I was in the third grade...

Holly: While those two ramble on... Deltra 307 does not own Warriors. It belongs to Erin Hunter. So please enjoy. I guess.

* * *

Holly ran as fast as she could. Her paws were starting to get sore, but she ignored the pain and kept on running. What if I can't outrun him? she thought. She didn't want to think about it, afraid of what the answer might be.

The tom passed by her and stooped, blocking her path. She skidded to a halt and tried to turn and run back the way she'd came, but the nameless tom leaped onto her back, stopping her. "Your not getting away," he growled. "There's no where you can run."

She stared up at him in horror. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he gave her a look as if she were growing a second head. Then, his grip loosened and he stepped off her back. "... Hollyleaf?" he meowed, awestruck.

For a moment, she narrowed her eyes at him. Flashes of things she'd never seen before flashed through her mind. The tom in front of her, only younger, a light gray tabby tom, and a younger version of herself. A tortishell and white tom, two she-cats, one a light ginger tabby and the other a light brown cat.

"L-Lionblaze?" It was as thought someone completely different was speaking through her as she said his name.

"It is you! How did you survive? How-" he cut off as she shook her head and ran out into the shadows of the trees. "Hollyleaf, wait!" he called, taking a step forward. But he stopped himself and let her run. "We'll meet again," she heard him say quietly. "I promise."

Shadowpaw thrashed about in Dovewing's grip. "Let go of me, you fur ball! Holly! Holly!"

"Quit your ruckus, kiddo. There's no way I'm letting you run off." He tried to claw at her, but missed. It was usless. He was stuck.

"Why do you even want me back so bad? I thought Firestar hates me."

"Well, the truth is... we didn't actually tell Firestar we were going to get you. We kind of just left."

"You snuck out of camp?"

"Well, Shadowclan and Windclan attacked us-"

"What?"

"Yeah. Windclan and Shadowclan crossed the border and came onto out territory. Shadowclan said that they were taking it for themselves."

"I think I might know why."

"Why, then?"

"I was kinda hunting on their territory and I might have still had a bit of Thunderclan scent on me..."

"So you caused that fight?"

"Maybe..."

"Urg... You're more trouble than you're worth, you know that?"

"I guess."

There was silence between the two Thunderclan cats. "Look, Shadowpaw, I'm not trying to be mean by taking you back. It's just, everyone misses you. Sandstorm is certain your dead and hasn't left the warriors den since she went looking for you."

"You guys miss me? She came looking for me? I thought you all hated me..."

"We don't. Your a valued member of Thunderclan, and you know how to keep yourself out of trouble, unlike most kits your age."

"And that means?"

"Your one smart cookie." When he didn't answer her, she smiled warmly at him. "You really care about that she-cat, don't you?"

"Yeah... She treated me like she was my mother. She wasn't over protective like Sandstorm, and she actually looked out for me and cared about me, unlike Firestar."

"I'm sure your father cares. Think of how hard it must be to be in charge of an entire clan. Plus, Firestar thinks he has to look after the other clans, too."

"Maybe."

"And when he yelled at you, it was only because he was worried that you were in danger. He sent patrol after patrol out to find you once he realised what he'd done. Firestar's been almost as bad as Sandstorm. Plus I think a certain apprentice is missing you in particular."

"What? Who?"

"Oh, please. Your telling me you haven't noticed? Cherrypaw's all over you. All she ever talks about is how amazing you are and how she hopes you'll one day be her mate." He blushed. He had had no idea anyone liked him like that.

"I guess I'll go back."

"Can I put you down now?"

"Am I to heavy?"

"No, I think you have fleas." Dovewing dropped him to the ground and began spitting on the ground repeatedly.

Shadowpaw couldn't help but laugh. "I wonder why we didn't talk very much before." It looked like she was about to say something, but she bit her bottom lip instead.

"I don't know, really," she said after a moment of hesitation. "But I guess I was missing out."

"Dovewing..."

"Yeah?"

"Are you my friend?"

"Of course! We're the best!" She gave him a big, cheesy grin, making Shadowpaw laugh again.

As the two walked into camp, they saw Sandstorm and Whitewing near the fresh-kill pile. Sandstorm's head was down, and it looked as though the other she-cat was trying to comfort the depressed she-cat.

"He'll turn up eventually," Whitewing said reassuringly.

"No, he won't. He's dead, I know it. I failed him. I'll never be able to live with myself."

The light ginger she-cat continued to moan when Whitewing looked over her shoulder. For an instant, a shocked look crossed her face, but it was replace by happiness as she mouthed the words 'Thank You'.

"Sandstorm!" she shrieked. Shadowpaw was impressed how well the she-cat had acted being suprised. "I-it's Shadowpaw! Oh great Starclan, thank you!"

Sandstorm looked up slowly as if she didn't believe that he was really there. When she caught his eye, all the sorrow washed away from her eyes. But instead of being happy, she looked as though she'd found him catching prey on another clans territory. She was looking more like herself already.

"Shadowpaw, you're in a world of trouble! Never, do you hear me, never run away from me again!" She began licking him vigorously. "Look at you! You're filthy!" she said between licks. "Any cat would think that I haven't taught you how to keep yourself clean!" He tried to wiggle away from her, but was blocked by her tail. "Your not getting away that easily!"

By now, almost the whole clan was crowded around the small balck apprentice.

"It's Shadowpaw!"

"Where was he that whole time?"

"I hope he's alright!"

Shadowpaw tried to find room to breathe in the mass of cats. "Give him some room," Lionblaze called, padding into camp. "Poor cat's going to suffocate if you keep that up."

The backed up a bit, giving the tom some room. He looked up towards Firestar's den. To his surprise, the leader was in front of his den. A smile sprawled across his face, a mixture of happiness and something else Shadowpaw couldn't put his paw on.

After that, he let them crowd around him, listening to their yowls of happiness and letting them lick his fur, happy to be home.

Lightning flashed outside the apprentices den. Shadowpaw had told Cherrypaw about he knew about her crush on him and said that he thought he might have the same feelings for her. He agreed to let her sleep next to him, much to Molepaw's anger. But, even after what seemed like moons of waiting, he couldn't fall asleep. He was so used to having Holly laying next to him, her tail curled around his small bady. Sure he had Cherrypaw, but it wasn't the same.

He got up and padded out of the den as quietly as he could, not wanting awkward questions from his fellow apprentices thrown at him. He walked into the warriors den and scanned the den. It was crowded, but he spotted an empty nest next to Dovewing.

After wlking up to her, he whispered, "Dovewing? Can I sleep with you?"

She stirred. "What?" she said, groggily.

"Can I sleep in this empty nest?"

"Empty... nest? Uh.. sure..." It was easy to tell she was still half asleep.

"Thanks." He curled up in the warm nest. Dovewing's fluffy fur brushed against his own, comforting him. It wasn't long before the lightning seemed to ease off. But once he had begun to dose off, a pain like a hundred suns shot through his head and an earsplitting scream echoed across Thunderclan territory.

**Shadowpaw: AHH! HEADACHE!**

**Holly: Your such a wuss**

**Deltra: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed! Review! NOW!**


	8. Important Note Please Read

Important Note:

I need your help! Before I can go on with The Rise of Hollystar, I need help coming up with something that I want you to help me with! I need a love intrest for Holly. Yep! I can't have a story with no romance, can I? For those of you who might not know what that means, it's basically a fancy way of saying "I need someone to pair Holly with as mates and stuff". If you've got any pairs, even if it's a xrack pairing, I wanna hear it! And if I like it, it might just be in the story.

Also, I'll be accsepting OCs. Only five, though. I don't want a huge wave of cats I have no room for. It's a sort of first come, first serve kind of thing.

And read Without a Doubt! I need two more reviews before I can continue, and I haven't even gotten close to the good part! So review, even if you don't care for it much. Just do it for the fact that I'm on my knees begging you to review it. Except right now, I'm actually standing up while typing this. That was random.

If anyone can help me out, please do! Thanks for taking the time to read this! See ya'!

(The Rise of Hollystar and other stories might be on hold for a while. Lately, my teachers have been loading us kids with homework and don't give us time to do it in class)


	9. Chapter 7: The Dream

**Guess what? The contest thingy ma jig is almost over! The fifth reviewer of this chapter, or any of the other chapters, get the prize (or something...)! Please, if your an anonymous reviewer, try not to be the fiftieth reviewer. It will just make my life a whole lot harder. If an anonymous reviewer is the fiftieth, the 49 reviewer will get the prize. So, yeah. Read. NOW!**

The smell of the forest surrounded Jayfeather. Patches of sunlight fell to the forest floor through the tree, causing the undergrowth to look as though it were glowing. The medicine cat purred. To him, this was the most beautiful sight in the world. Well, probably except her.

The scent of mouse not far away caught him by surprise and, trying to imitate the hunters crouch, which was hard since he had no idea what it looked like, he leaped on the mouse's neck, snapping it. Seeing was wonderful, unlike the world of darkness he lived in in the waking world.

He was about to bite into the prey when a scream erupted through the forest. With a jolt, the darkness returned and flooded over Jayfeather's sight. "Who in Starclan's name is making that horrid noise?" he half demanded, half yelled.

"It's Shadowpaw," came Brightheart's gentle voice. As far as the blind medicine cat could tell, she and and Birchfall were leading the whimpering apprentice towards his den, Dovewing pacing back and forth behind them.

"What did I do? Did I touch him in the wrong spot? Did I make him hit his head on a rock? Oh, I hope he'll be okay..."

"Relax," Lionblaze said to her. "Whatever happened, Jayfeather will take care of it."

"But he's blind!" The fur on Jayfeather's neck began to bristle and he was about to make a smart remark when she said, "Oh, what am I talking about. He's never made a mistake before. Let's just hope Shadowpaw will be okay."

He wanted to say something, but for once, he was speechless. Sighing, he mumbled, "Bring him here and let me take a look. Now what seems to be the problem? It must be something major if it made you make that loud of a noise."

"My head... It hurts..."

"A headache. Are you kidding me? A headache? From all that screeching, anyone would think that a sea of badgers were trampling over you!"

"I'm sorry, it-ah!" The black apprentices paws fell away from underneath him and he collapsed on the ground, screaming worse than before. Jayfeather made no movement to help.

Brightheart growled in disbelief, "Are you just going to sit there and do nothing?"

"It's a headache, Brightheart," he snapped. "He's overreacting! No one, no matter how older or young gets this worked up over a headache!"

"But what if it's not just a headache..."

"Your a medicine cat, Jayfeather," meowed Dovewing, butting into the conversation. "It's your job to heal those in pain whether you like it or not."

He sighed again. This is not my day, he told himself. "Fine, whatever you say. Give me some space, jeez! Is the whole clan here trying to watch me at work? Shoo!" Once the crowd of cats split up and disappeared into their dens, he turned to Shadowpaw once more. "I don't think their are any herbs that can heal a headache. Just try and rest. I'm sure you'll be fine in the morning."

"But-" Shadowpaw started, but Jayfeather cut him off.

"Now."

Giving him an uncertain glance, the small apprentice padded over to the one nest and curled up in the moss. Jayfeather watched until he saw the slight rise and fall of Shadowpaw's chest slow.

Brighthearts words troubled him. But what if it's not just a headache... What did that even mean? He looked at the black cat through narrowed eyes. It was times like these were he was happy to be one of the Three. He layed down next to him and let sleep take over.

* * *

"Oh, Nova, you always were the curious one!"

The sun was showing the last lights of the day. It was almost completely behind the horizon. Jayfeather watched from the bushes as a silver she-cat with black stripes glared at a black tom with amber eyes.

Just like Shadowpaw...

"You want to know why I'm here?" the black tom said, letting out a loud, maniacal laugh. "This is my land now! You stupid Thunderclan cats can't do anything about it!"

The silver she-cat looked unfazed. "Stop it, Shatteredheart. Listen to yourself. Is this who you want to be? You were the greatest Thunderclan cat, but now..."

"I'm exactly as I should be, Nova!"

"My name is Echofang..." she snarled.

"And mine's not Shatteredheart! Honestly, did you all forget? I thought you loved me, too..."

"How could I love a monster?"

"now, don't be calling me that. It's not nice."

"Was murdering all those cats nice?"

"As a matter of fact, it was! To feel blood ooze through your claws, to let the screams of your victims fill your ears... It's the most wonderful feeling Starclan could offer. You sould try it some time. It's fun."

"Killing's not fun! It's stupid! What did we ever do to you? Nothing! Were all of the murders for power? So you could lead Thunderclan?"

"Your title in the clan doesn't matter."

"Then what was it?"

"You."

"What?" she spat.

"I loved you. I thought that those wretched cats tried to kill you. Do you know how much it hurt? You died..."

"But I didn't! I'm right here!"

The black tom turned around. "Your just another illusion..."

"Listen to me! I'm not dead! What did they do to you while I was gone...?"

There was silence. Jayfeather felt his tail flick with frustration. This wasn't helping!

Suddenly, the silence was broken by more of the toms laughter. "Nothing! Go home, fool! Sunningrocks now belongs to Shadowheart!"

Shadowheart? Jayfeather almost said aloud. Could these strange cats have something to do with Shadowpaw's headaches?

"You should not be here."

Jayfeather whipped around to see Rock's furless shape.

"I can go were I please."

"This has nothing to do with you. Go back."

"I'm a medicine cat and he's my patient! This has everything to do with me!"

"Go back."

"Not without answers."

Rock narrowed his bulging, sightless eyes. "This is none of your business."

"At least tell me how I can help him!"

Rock sighed. "Very well." In an odd, distant voice, he mewed, "Shadows walk the path of holly..."

"What does that mean?"

But the dream was already starting to fade, and as everything faded to black, he heard a voice somewhere in the distance whisper, "Shadows walk the path of holly..."

* * *

Jayfeather sat upstraight, Shadowpaw twitching as he slept. What did Rock's prochecy mean? He knew from previous prochecies that they usually were about cats. Shadowpaw was the 'shadows' part of the prophecy, he knew, but he didn't know anyone with 'holly' in their name.

He could smell Lionblaze near the Fresh-kill pile. He was part of the dawn patrol and was most likely getting something to eat before he left.

"Lionblaze!" he called, racing towards his brother's scent. "I need to talk to you!"

"What is it?"

"I need to know if you know anyone with the name Holly..."

* * *

Jayfeather prodded Shadowpaw in the side, waking him up. The black apprentice moaned, stirred, and got to his paws.

"What is it?"

Jayfeather swallowed hard. "I need you to take me to Holly."

**PLEASE READ!**

**The dream sequence was from the prequel to the story Shadowpaw's from. For any of you who were confused, this is how it came to that. It started when Nova/Echofang (she was a loner before joining Thunderclan) was kidnapped by Shadowclan. Thunderclan assumed she was dead. Shadowheart loved her and suspected that his leader, medicine cat, and a bunch of warriors had planned killing her. He murdered them for revenge, but was banished and snapped. They called him Shatteredheart after he ran from Thunderclan territory, and he claimed sunningrocks as his own, planning on making his own clan. Echofang returned to find the clan in ruins and Shadowheart missing. She went to look for him and realized he went crazy. Up to speed? Shadowheart dies by the way. After he kills Echofang. In the sequel. So yeah.**

**Review, and remember, the contest is almost over! I'll PM you If I see that you're the 50 reviewer!**


	10. Chapter 8: Journeys Beginning

**Hiya! I have some announcements, so please, don't start reading the story just yet.**

**Okay, ichi (meaning one), I'm really sorry about not updating this for a while. I'll try to be better about it.**

**Ni(or ne, I'm not sure (oh yeah, meaning two)), The competition thingy is over! The winner is... BrambleclawXSquirrelflight! Congratulations! Thanks everyone for reviewing! Should I do something similar for the 100th reviewer? Highly unlikely, but... And I'm sorry, BrambleclawXSquirrelflight. I have pretty bad writers block on your story, so bare with me.**

**San (3), I have some new projects you might be seeing soon! Okay, one, I might be doing a 100 one-shot challenge! Second off, my friends and I are going to be doing a colabaration, so keep a look out for that, too!**

**And now... The story!**

Shadowpaw blinked. What did Jayfeather want with Holly?

"Well?" the blind tabby pressed.

Anger rose in Shadowpaw's chest. "What do you mean? Firestar announced to the clan that Lionblaze killed her!"

His mentor padded into the medicine cats den and sat behind Jayfeather, his golden tail wrapped around his paws. "I lied... I couldn't kill her, so instead I let her run. She looked so much like Hollyleaf, I didn't know what to do..."

"What happens when we meet her? Will you drag her here where she'll be killed? You know my father won't show mercy to her!"

"Trust me, Shadowpaw," Lionblaze mewed. "We know Firestar wants her dead, but I swear that I wont let anything happen to her!"

"Why do you care so much?" Shadowpaw asked.

Jayfeather spat, "That's for us to know, and us to know only! Now take us to her! It's the only way to stop whatever's happening to you!"

"Really?"

"I think..." the medicine cat didn't sound to sure anymore.

"You 'think'? Your going to drag me out of the camp just because you 'think' I might magically be healed? Hedgehogs will fly before I take you to Holly! Besides, I don't even know where she is!"

"You little pest..." Jayfeather growled, unsheathing his claws. "I'm trying to help you and all you do is scream at me? I'll show you that you never pick a fight with a medicine cat!" The gray tabby lunged at Shadowpaw. The small apprentice was taken by surprise as the medicine cat landed on his shoulders, digging his claws into his fur.

Shadowpaw tried to shake him off, but had no luck in doing so. Instead, he shifted his weight and rolled over, crushing Jayfeather beneath him. He yowled in pain and squirmed out from under the black apprentice. Shadowpaw leaped to his paws, hissing.

Lionblaze sat frozen, remembering that this was the cat who had beaten Brambleclaw, a full fledged warrior, at only two moons old. There was no way a blind medicine cat could take him on as an apprenitce.

Jayfeather looked frantically around, trying to locate his target. Shadowpaw sneered and bunched up his hunches, ready to strike the confused medicine cat.

"Shadowpaw, stop it!" Lionblaze cried. He cast his mentor a side glance, but didn't stop. "Shadowpaw, as your mentor, I order you to stop now!"

"Shadowpaw!"

All eyes turned to the entrance of the den. A ginger she-cat raced over to Jayfeather. "Are you okay?" asked Cherrypaw, worry glazing her eyes.

Shadowpaw stared wide eyed in shock. "What was I doing..." he murmured.

Cherrypaw shot him a glare, but it was short lived. She raced over and started licking a deep scratch on his shoulder.

Despite what had just taken place, he felt himself smile. "Young love," he muttered under his breath. "Just like me and Heathertail when we were apprentices..."

"Now tell Jayfeather your sorry!" Cherrypaw scolded, her tail twitching with annoyance.

"I-I'm sorry..."

"You should be!" hissed Jayfeather, flinching as he licked a spot where some of his fur had been torn off. "Firestar's definitely going to hear about this!"

"No! Please! He's mad at me already!" he begged. "I'll do anything!"

"Anything?" Lionblaze asked, raising an eyebrow. He and his brother exchanged a glance.

"Anything! I'll take you straight to Holly! Just don't tell Firestar!" Cherrypaw looked confused, but didn't say anything.

Lionblaze grinned mischievously. "You don't really think that's going to get you out of this do you?" he said quietly after Jayfeather had gone into his storage room in search of herbs. "You're going to have to do a whole lot more then that to get us to not tell Firestar."

"What? What do you want me to do?"

He looked over at Cherrypaw. "Why don't you ask her out on a walk. But not like friends..."

Cherrypaw hit him on the cheek, claws unsheathed. "Jerk!" she cried.

After Jayfeather had finished applying the herbs on his wounds, he asked, "So, your going to take us to Holly?"

"Yes, I will..."

"Good. Then we'll leave tonight. Lionblaze, go get some traveling herbs for the three of us."

"Wait?" Cherrypaw butted in. "Isn't Holly dead? Didn't Lionblaze kill her?"

"Well, about that..." Shadowpaw began.

"You know, never mind. I don't want to know."

"Do you know which direction Holly went?" Jayfeather called to Lionblaze.

"She went towards the Windclan border. Maybe she's camping somewhere in their territory."

"Great! Onestar is defiantly going to let us cross his territory to look for some rouge!"

"Holly's not a rouge!" Shadowpaw spat in the black she-cat's defence.

Charrypaw stared at Jayfeather. "Where are you going?"

"To look for Holly. Haven't you been listening?" Shadowpaw asked her.

"I want to go!"

Shadowpaw gaped at her. "Um, Cherrypaw? This is a dangerous mission."

"So? Do you think I can't handle it? I'm older then you are, Shadowpaw. I think I would be better suited for going out and finding the Holly person!"

"It's just..." Shadowpaw swallowed hard. "I wouldn't fogive myself if you got hurt," he mewed, pressing him mussle against hers. She backed away.

"I won't get hurt! And besides, even if I do, Jayfeather's going, isn't he?"

Shadowpaw's face dropped.

"She has a point," Lionblaze said, dropping the traveling herbs in front of Jayfeather. "I suppose there's no harm in letting her come with us."

"Okay, fine..." Shadowpaw murmered, dragging the bundle of herbs towards him.

Lionblaze sat up without touching the herbs. "I'm going to go tell Firestar that we're leaving." With that, he made his way out of the medicine cat den. In moments, Lionblaze returned. "Firestar has agreed to let us go."

"You didn't tell him what we're really doing, did you?"

"No. Why would I do that?" Jayfeather shrugged.

"Are we all ready to go?" Shadowpaw and Charrypaw nodded. "Then let's get going. Lionblaze, you lead the way."

Shadowpaw's mentor lead the three out of the den and into the forest, and the group was on their way.

"Why do you want to meet Holly so bad?" Lionblaze asked Jayfeather in a hushed voiced. His mew was so quiet, Shadowpaw had to strain to hear him.

"You said she looked like Hollyleaf. Do you know if she came from the tunnels?"

"I think I heard Shadowpaw saying something like that."

"Then that must mean..."

Shadowpaw didn't bother listening to the rest of there conversation. "There's no way Holly is there sister, there's absolutely no way..."

"What are you talking about?" asked Cherrypaw.

"Oh! Um, nothing. I'm just wondering where Holly might be."

"What are you going to do when you find her?"

Shadowpaw froze. What were they they going to do when they found Holly? Would Lionblaze finish her off?

"I don't know Cherrypaw," he mewed truthfully. "I really don't know."

Soon, the group of four found themselves at the edge of Thunderclan's territory.

"We're here..." Lionblaze murmured. "Let's go." And so, the golden tabby lead them into the expanse of Windclan territory before them, unaware of the events that were about to take place.

"I'm coming, Holly..."

**Kinda short, but...**

**And thus, the quest to find Holly begins! I'm kind of planning a sequal to this. I don't know if I'll actually write it, but if I do plan on doing so, I'll tell you. Well, I hope you all enjoyed! R&R!**


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